The unforgiving wastes
by ItchyTriggerFinger
Summary: My story about a boy who gets exiled from his home only to find himself in the unforgiving wastes. Read it, it's good! (Rated R for language, violence and minor adult content)
1. Epilogue

Hey, my name is Robert Drayne and up until about a year ago, my life was going just fine. I had food, shelter and a place where I belonged. The story I am about to tell you is one of tragic heartbreak and terrible hardships. Now, I am forming the basis of a new town with a new government along with the help of my friends.  
  
It was last July when it all started, I was still living in the vault at this point with my pet dog named Basher. I was walking through the corridor on the second floor when I saw it all happen. There in front of me stood a guy I didn't like much named James alongside my dog with a disgruntled look on his face.  
  
"This god damn dog is looking at me funny Bobby" he said to me. It was pretty obvious that James had been drinking too much which he was notorious for. James then reached under his jacket, and knowing what he was capable of when he was drunk, I reached for my holster under my jacket. Justifying my suspicion, James pulled a knife out his jacket and I pulled out a pistol from mine. Though he knew that I was standing in front of him and Basher was my dog, he lunged at the dog with the knife.  
  
"James!" I shouted out at the drunkard while I loaded my pistol. "Touch my dog and I'll fucking shoot you" I shouted with my pistol loaded and aimed at his chest. Though, paying no attention to my cries James stabbed the knife deep into Basher's torso. The god yelped and bit James' wrist while at the same time, I lost my cool, cocked the hammer on my pistol and pulled my trigger finger. James dropped his knife and fell to the ground along with my dog because I had just loaded a bullet into his chest. I was no doctor but I knew that it was a fatal wound when I saw him gasp for air and quickly collapse. I know that this probably wasn't the best place to shoot him but I wasn't the world's greatest marksman when my eyes were full of tears for my dying dog. It wasn't more than 30 seconds until somebody showed up after hearing a gunshot and had both James and Basher taken to the vault doctor.  
  
After the shock wore off, I was at the waiting room for the doctor waiting to see if Basher would be okay after such a wound. About 40 minutes later, the doctor came out of a door and explained to everybody that Basher would get better but there was nothing he could do for James, because he was shot right through the heart. In retrospect, being able to shoot somebody through the heart with one shot is a good skill to have in the unforgiving wastelands. However, this skill has probably gotten me into a lot of trouble here at the vault but I really didn't have much of a choice. Really was is one of those situations that nothing good comes out of, my dog was wounded and I had shot a fellow vault inhabitant. The vault overseer does not look too kindly upon murder within their walls.  
  
About a week later, after a lot of gossip and talk between the other people who occupy the vault, it was time for my trial with the overseer. It was a good thing that my parents weren't alive to see and be ashamed of me. There I stood in a small room with the overseer deciding on my punishment for killing that degenerate scumbag James.  
  
"Why did you do it Robert? Everybody in this vault accepted you and you threw it all away for that stupid drunk." The overseer said in a disappointed tone as he wrote quickly on a sheet of paper. "I'm afraid that I have no choice but to cast you out of this vault forever Robert, even though I'd have done the same thing in your situation. You can decide to take your dog with you or not." This vault had been my home for eighteen years and it had been taken away from me in one week.  
  
"Fine, I'll take Basher with me and leave this damn vault, there are plenty of towns out there in the wastes." I said as I stormed out of the room and went to my chambers to pack my things and spend my last night in the vault.  
  
The next morning, I was awoken by a loud banging on my door which had turned out to be the overseer informing me that I had 3 hours to be gone from the vault. So I took my things, called my dog and said my goodbyes to all of my friends. I then headed upstairs to the main door of the vault. A guard, approached a terminal and steam shot out from the door. The giant mammoth of a door swung open revealing a world that I had never seen before, a world beyond the vault. This is where my real adventures would begin. 


	2. Enter the wastes

I slowly walked out of my home with my trusty magnum revolver, knife and dog (though he was still really roughed up). From here the situation really didn't look good for me as I had almost nothing now. In front of me lay a cave full of rats that didn't look too happy to see me so without hesitation I readied my knife for combat as I didn't want to waste any bullets. Basher, still with bandages wrapped around part of his body started growling ferociously at the vermin. The rats started to charge at me and the first one that got within range, I virtually sliced in half. As I could see it there were about 15 more rats that stood between me and getting out into the open wastes. Me and basher lunged at them and mortally wounded them all. I then ran for the cave exit and my dog followed at my heel.  
  
Outside in the wastes I looked left and right and all I could see were endless stretches of desert that probably stretched well over the horizon before any sign of civilization. I took a small navigation device known as the pip boy 2000 out of my vault jacket to show me where a nearby town was. Apparently the New California Republic (or NCR) was only about a week's walk to the west which I could easily do. So me and Basher started walking the way that the pip boy told us to and hoped it was right. We had walked for several hours so I had become tired and so I pulled a sleeping bag out of my backpack and set a fire. Fortunately I had stocked up a lot of drymeat and water before we left the vault. Both me and Basher tore into some drymeat and took a drink of water before we went to bed underneath the canopy of stars in the midnight sky.  
  
Several hours later, I was awoken by the sound of gunfire and my dog barking. I headed toward the sound and my dog headed toward the smell of gunpowder until we saw lights flashing and heard guns bursting. From what I could see there was a caravan fending off robbers in front of me. I loaded my revolver and ran toward battle with my dog and aimed my pistol at one of the robbers. Since nobody had noticed me yet, I took my time to aim the firearm. I then cocked the hammer and pulled the trigger, emptying a round right into a robber who was holding a sawed off shotgun's neck. He quickly dropped the gun and grasped his neck as he fell to the ground and with that, the battle was finished in favour of the caravan. I then approached the caravan as I placed my gun firmly back in my holster.  
  
"Hey you, thanks for helping us in battle" said the caravan master. He then made a hand gesture for me to come to him so we could talk a little easier. "Howdy stranger, my name is Johnny Forbes and I run caravans from New Reno to the NCR and visa versa."  
  
"I'm headed to NCR, can I accompany you guys?" I asked in hope that I would have somebody to travel with.  
  
"Kid, I'd love to help you but we are heading to New Reno right now and not NCR" Johnny said with a disappointed tone in his voice.  
  
"Suits me fine, I just have to get somewhere and I'm decent with a gun it you need an extra caravan guard." I replied wishing that he would accept me and I could make some money as well as find civilization.  
  
"Alright kid, we're off to New Reno so get your dog and hop on board. I can pay you $500 for the whole trip" Said Johnny with a little smile on his face.  
  
Now that I was on my way to New Reno, I would see civilization in a few days without any big chance of getting killed. Now I was on a one way trip to New Reno and some fanatical adventures waited to unfold for me and my caravan. 


	3. Journey to Reno

Now with Johnny and his caravan, I felt that I belonged for the first time in a few weeks. I was getting paid $500 mainly to just sit around in a caravan unless there was trouble. Also, me and my dog were eating good food on the road for free. After a few days of travelling, the caravan was halted by a group of psychos with Japanese looking swords in hand.  
  
"Stop!" shouted the leader "You have entered the territory of the Yakuza. Turn over all of your goods and weapons and we will not maim each and every one of you with our blades" The Yakuza had tattoos of teardrops under their eyes and most were wearing black leather jackets with Japanese characters written on their backs. Basher was asleep right now which was a good thing because this was gonna get pretty ugly in a few minutes. I, the rest of the guards and Johnny pulled out our guns and loaded them. We stepped back to the caravan to protect the brahmin and since they only had knives we could fight from long range. This was my first time in an actual fight where everybody knew I was around and they were gonna do something about it.  
  
"Die you degenerate punks!" shouted Johnny as he fired a shot out of his hunting rifle and tore through the bone and sinew of the Yakuza leader's right kneecap. Now all of the gang were running at the caravan and a heated battle began. However, my eyes weren't on this battle as one of the Yakuza punks was running at me with his blade in hand. I readied my revolver and shot at him but the shot had narrowly missed him. He then whipped his blade through the air as I rolled back to dodge him and he missed. Now I was kneeling on the ground while he readied his knife for another blow. I fired my gun off and this time I had pegged him in the wrist of the hand that was holding the knife.  
  
"Agh!" The punk screamed as he staggered back a feew steps and dropped his weapon. He then fell to the ground clenching his wrist in the alternate hand. This was too sad, he was already down with one shot to his wrist. I slowly walked toward him as he stared at my with an accusing look in his eyes. "Go ahead boy, shoot me." Shouted the Yakuza punk as he spat on my shoe. My trigger finger was getting itchy so I pulled it and 'click' the gun was out of ammo and I didn't have any spare magnum bullets lying around. Still angry at the Yakuza bastard, I reached for his dropped knife and clasped it in my hand. Without thought, I slashed the knife through his windpipe and blood had sprayed upon my clean blue vault suit. oh well, one less stupid punk in this world to deal with.  
  
I had mixed feelings about my victory against him but they would have to wait to be sorted out as there was still a fierce battle raging. Though since I had no bullets in my gun, I'd sit this one out. I climbed back in the caravan and took the Yakuza blade with me. When I came out of the caravan a few minutes later the battle was over. Johnny was still standing but there was one dead guard lying on the ground. I approached him looking for some magnum bullets but I found a 10mm sub-machinegun at his side and some armour piercing 10mm bullets in his jacket pocket. I knew that taking things off of a carcass was bad manners but at this point, I didn't really care. Frankly, not much good came out of this battle but Johnny had previously mentioned the Yakuza as some folks who hung out around New Reno so I knew we were almost there.  
  
The next day, we arrived in a pretty big town, much bigger than the vault and after Johnny gave me my 500$, and as I looked around at my surroundings, I knew that this town had big things in store for a young traveller looking for work like me. 


End file.
